The government's social housing policies - *another* triumph

From Hansard:

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of trends in the number of families on council house waiting lists since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Iain Wright: Our latest figures show 1.67 million households registered on local authority waiting lists in England in April 2007 compared to 1.02 million in April 1997.

So that's a hike of two-thirds then.

Admittedly it is councils that deliver social housing rather than central government, but an increase of nigh on 66% during its term in office is something of an indictment, whether viewed in terms of failure to meet demand, or that it is making subsidised housing more appealing than paying one's own way.